NSL Abuses described firsthand

The Washington Post published an article this morning written by an IT company president, who received one of the FBI’s National Security Letters (NSL) a couple of years ago. This NSL happens to be part of the long trail of abuses disclosed March 9, 2007, in the report by the Justice Department’s Inspector General.

The article describes how the receipt of an NSL and the gag order it contained has completely changed the man’s life and caused him great distress and heartache. This is another example of how agencies granted broad surveillance powers will abuse those powers if given an opportunity.